Just The Begining
by Fade
Summary: Based right after the end of the movie released in '00 R
1. Default Chapter Title

Hello people. normally I write Dragonball Z fanfics but I decided to try something new. This story is based directly after the X-Men movie that was released in '00. I have done my best to research the charecters that I will include in this story but anything that I get completly wrong, feel free and tell me. Small things, such as misspellings, please don't bother me with. This story has nothing to do with the comic book, or TV series storyline's, so don't tell me that it is impossible for this person and that person to fall in love. or that he would never beat that guy because in episode 724 his power was taken away by the big red dude. Just read, review, and enjoy.  
  
(a/n means authors note, in case I make a mistake, or I do something kinda hard to understand I will add this to clArify things.)  
  
*****  
  
Just The Beginning Chapter 1  
  
Deep in the Canadian mountains the snow threw itself upon the landscape. The ground lay buried in a blanket of flakes, never once growing a hint of grass at all. The peaks of the mountains were so covered in snow as to have not seen the light of the sun in hundreds of years. Wind whipped through the trees, destroying old, dead wood, and making way for new trees to grow.  
  
A small sapling, not more then a month old had sprouted from the ground, looking for all the world like a weed. It would be hundreds of years before it could join its proud brothers that stood so tall nearby, swaying in the wind. It reached for the sky with a will like no other living thing. The will of life.  
  
Seconds later, where the young sapling had been starting its journey to the sun, there now sat a boot. The snow fell swiftly, begining to blanket the boot, untill it lifted off once again. Logan looked around at the snow covered valley he was in. He had been travelling for five days through the mountains in search of the complex Professor Xavier told him about. But nearing the end of the sixth day he was begining to wonder if it even existed. he knew thre professor wouldn't lie to him, but that didn't mean it wasn't buried under thirty feet of snow.  
  
Logan stopped and leaned against a tree pulling a map and a cigar. He lit the cigar as he studied the crude map he had made off of the schools computer. He was close, how close was impossible to say, he was traveling on his instincts as he always had. He sniffed the air softly to check for danger, and when he did not detect anything but the strong odor of his cigar he leaned his head back against the tree, closing his eyes.  
  
He awoke with a start sometime later. He had not planned to fall asleep, but then again he hadn't slept scince he left the school. He looked down and saw that he was blanketed in snow. Logan then stood up and shook off the snow. He saw a deep burn in his jacket and realized he must have dropped the cigar. He glanced around, out of habit really more then anything, and started to walk again. It was nightime and the moon was fill, giving him plenty of light to walk by. The straps from his backpack flapped in the wind as he trudged through the snow.  
  
After nearly a mile, Logan stopped walking when his feet walked on something other then dirt. He leaned down and dug away the snow. Beneath he discovered a chain link fence. It was red with rust and age. He saw small coils of wire wrapped around the main pole and realized that it had at one time been electrified.   
  
He looked up and saw the small cliff he had been heading toward to get a better view of the landscape. Now, at the base of the cliff, he could see an entrance to what he knew was the base he had been searching for. The compound that held his past. Standing up, he sniffed the air for any signs of danger and slowly walked toward the cliff.  
  
He lightly tensed the muscles in his forearms and felt his claws push softly at the skin above his knuckles. As he neared the compound he saw what appeared to be vehicles, hum-vees in fact. They were covered with snow and as useless as the fence that had collapsed. He passed the trucks and walked toward the entrance.  
  
It had been dug directly into the cliff face. Beside the sliding steel doors Logan saw a number pad. Written in big red letters above the keypad were the words AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY. Logan chuckled to himself and said to no one in particular, "Wonder if I'm authorized."  
  
The door didn' budge as he pulled at it. It was rusted shut. He extended a claw and thrust it in between the doors. His arm strained at the door but it refused to reveal its screts. He pulled his claw out of the door and back into his arm, sighing as the wound closed.  
  
Walking back to the hum-vees he dug away the mound of snow that had piled up. On the back of the jeep was an emblem of a cobra, curling itself around an X. When he pulled on handle of the door it did not suprise him when it didn't open. He was suprised however when the glass didn't shatter as he threw his fist at it. Bullet proof glass. He pulled his arm back once again and thrust it forward, extending his claws as he did so. They penetrated the glass and this time it broke as his fist followed the adamantium claws. A few more punches and the door was clear of glass.  
  
He leaned in slowly and looked around. It was dark in the car untill he pulled out his little flashlight and shined it around. The inside smelled old, full of moist fungus. He pushed aside a gas can and found what he was lookign for. Logan put away his flashlight and pulled out the crowbar.  
  
The door groaned as he jammed the bar in between the metal. He pulled hard and felt the door give way slightly. He pulled with all his might and the metal gave, sliding open with a metallic screech. He leaned in slowly and inhaled the stale air. It was cold, and there was a stench of chemicals in the air. He pulled out his flashlight and walked slowly into the corridor.  
  
* * * *  
  
Back at the School for Gifted Youngsters, Professor Charles Xavier slowly rolled down the hallway, listening to the silence. The children were all asleep, except for the few that didn't need sleep, and they were quiet enough so as not to wake the others. The last week had been very much of a blur to some of them. Most of them learned of the goings-on through a grapevine the students called the Fone, a sytem where the few telepathic children would relay what they could pick up tp the rest of the students.  
  
It was not forbidden and the Professor was actually proud that they were excercising their powers and learning to work together. He knew of the Fone, as did the rest of the staff, but they were requested to behave as if they did not. He had heard the children talking, and almost laughed out loud when he realized what kinds of yarns they had developed after the information had been passed through the Fone.  
  
But it was a time for caution for the X-Men, while they had defeated Magneto, the Professor knew as well as Eric, that he would not remain imprisoned for long. And there were other complications. Neither Sabertooth, nor Toad's bodies had been found. Apparently Mystique had switched sides, but with the criminal element of somebody, it was always impossible to tell.  
  
And then there was those had followed Senator Kelly, a few of the dissedents from his movements against the mutants had formed a group called WHAM, Worlds Humanity Against Mutants, headed by RIck Lozlow CEO of LozTech industries. But they had taken his ideals one step further. They were no longer pressing for mutant registration, they were now screaming for the complte eradication of all mutants. The government still had yet to pay any attention to their barbaric proposal, but the government was not what worried Xavier, he knew that they would never allow another holocaust. What worried him, was what WHAM would do when the government continued to ignore them. LozTech was a company devoted to the development of new technoligies, as well as having divisions in many other departments. The Professor knew they even had a contract with the military to develop defense weopons.  
  
Xavier had faith in his students, but he was not a fool. Overconfidence could be ones downfall. The younger children were still far to young to fight, but the Professor would never ask them to anyway. But that did not mean that he would not need help. And so began his search for what he hoped would be the end of this conflict. His search for more mutants that would assist them.  
  
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Well there ya have it. My first chapter. tell me what you think. I do plan on putting out more. 


	2. Default Chapter Title

Well ok, here's my next chapter. most people seemed to like it, and that inspires me. Oh and BTW I own the movie so I watch at least once a day. And if ya review and ask me if I am going to put so and so in the fic make sure ya be specific as to who you are talking about. I obviously plan on introducing other charecters and stuff. Also anybody who leaves there email most of the time I reply to you. I have AOL, MSN, and ICQ so just ask if ya want my contact info. Ok well without any further adu, chapter 2. Hee hee, that ryhmed. :)  
  
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The snow fell softly through the branches of the pine trees deep in the rockies. It came to rest on the back of a creature that was crouched on the edge of a clearing. It was wrapped in the skin of a bear, the chin of the beast resting on the creatures head, Its lips were pulled back in a sneer, exposing its fangs, as it watched the place where Logan had just entered.  
  
He unconsciously ran a claw over the metal dog tags that hung around his neck, following the little letters that spelled out SABERTOOTH. His black eyes searched the blackness in the corridor that Logan had dissapeared into. He growled once again as he sat and waited.   
  
The swim from Liberty island had not been fun. He did not enjoy water. Especially cold water. And the blast from that damn one eyed freak had left quite a mark that took time for even his regenerative properties to repair. And so, cold, in pain, and hungry as always, he had swam back to the shore.  
  
He hadn't even bothered to look for Toad. He was glad the little twerp was gone. More then once he had missed a midnight snack to that slimy tongue of his. Right now he was content, he chewed softly on the meat of the bear, tasting the blood and remembering how fun is was to kill something so weak as a grizzly. he hadn't even eaten it all, just broke off a rib, skinned it, and kept following Logan.  
  
Now that had proven to be a chore. Finding Logan was easy, but finding out where he was going was hard. After sitting along the road outside of the mansion for awhile he had caught the scent of Logan, more then saw him as he zipped by on a motorcycle. At first he could still follow Logans scent, but after a couple of miles all he had to follow was the distinct smell of the exhaust from the bike.And still, even then, after nearly 6 miles he lost the trail. Not nearly enough to follow him to wherever he was going in such a hurry. And so he had resorted to doing what he did best. Hurting people.   
  
He attacked people and demanded they tell him if they saw him, and then he would kill them, just to listen to them scream. He had followed Logan back to where he had first attacked him. Into the rockies. There, in the woods, Logan was easier to track and he had followed along carefully, waiting for the moment when he could exact his revenge. He had been annoyed when Logan had fallen asleep. There he was, crouching in knee deep snow with nothing but a bear skin for warmth, while Logan slept like a baby. He had been tempted to attack then, but he knew that Logan had the same hightened senses he did. Although Sabertooth knew that his own were far superior.  
  
But now he was getting tired of waiting. And his curiousity was getting the better of him. Why had Logan come here. What was this complex he had gone into. Obviously it had been well guarded. He had seen Logan try and open it with just his hands. And then laughed to himself when he saw him finally use a crowbar. Sabertooth slowly stood up and made his way toward the entrance, still keeping an eye out to see if Logan would come out. he stopped and, as Logan had before him, he leaned his head into the corridor and sniffed softly.   
  
More then anything, he could smell Logan, but there was that old smell as well. A smell of mildew and age. He stepped into the darkness of the corridor and abandoned himself to his senses as the darkness swallowed him.  
  
* * * *  
  
The streets of Paris were dim as the darkness began to settle down upon the city of love. The vendors began to close down their food stands and headed back home. People still walked along the streets, some arm in arm, some huddled into the warmth of a tattered jacket as they held out a cup, hoping for the spare bit of change that would buy them their next shot of whiskey at the local pub.  
  
In the alleys between the buildings the sewer rats ran from dumpster to dumpster, gorging themselves on the stale french loaves that tourists had thrown away. The darkness was illuminated in flame for a moment as a match was burst into flames and was held under the tip of a cigarette. the tip burned brightly as its owner inhaled deeply and blew the smoke out. He placed the box of matches back into the pocket of his leather trench coat and stepped out of the alley, heading across the brick-paved streets and into a small pub.  
  
It was empty this time of night, as he liked it. There were only three other patrons in the bar. A foul smelling women who sat at the bar, near the door, drowning herself in the one shot of alchohol she could afford. The other two were a pair of men, sitting at one of the tables, quitely talking to one another. He sat at the end of the bar and waited for the bartender.  
  
"The usual?"  
  
Gambit nodded his head as he stared at the mirror across from him. His reflection distorted by the liqour bottles. As the bartender placed a two shots of whiskey on the bar in front of him, Gambit reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of aspirins. Popping the lid he pulled he paid the bartender five pounds and pulled out an aspirin for himself.   
  
After downing the first shot he felt much more relazed then he had been. The aspirin sat on the bar in front of him. He picked it up along with the second shot downed them both in one swallow. He looked again at his reflection, brushing at a stray lock of brown hair that had escaped his head band. He got up and walked out of the pub, turning down the street he always took when he left.  
  
It was a walk he made every night, from the pub to the Eiffel tower, and then from there to the bride just blocks away where he slept. He was not homeless. Merely houseless. He was content to wander the streets of Paris for the time being. He walked slowly, not in any hurry to be anywhere, and kept walking even when he saw the reflection of the two men from the pub following him in the mirror of a parked car.  
  
Gambit pulled his bottle of aspirin out and poured another three pills into his hand. He stopped on the sidewalk a moment and popped one of the pills into his mouth, swallowing it. The other two remained in his hand and softly began to glow. After merely a few seconds they were shimmering as energy flickered across them.  
  
He spun and threw the first one at the man who had pulled out the switchblade. It landed square in his chest and exploded, knocking the man backwards onto the ground. The second one pulled a gun from his jacket and caught the second pill in the the mouth. It bounced on his tongue once before exploding and distributing the mans head across the sidewalked.   
  
His friend pulled himself to his feet and ran toward the mutant. Gambit reached beneath his coat and pulled his quarter staff out, swinging it and connecting to the oncoming assailant's kneecap. He pitched forward and landed face first in the cement. Gambit crouched over him and pulled off the mans jacket. He accepted the money being offered by the mans pockets and then proceeded to hog tie him with the sleeves.  
  
Gambit pulled another cigarette from his coat along with a match and watched as the match burst into flames. He lit the cigarette and then dropped the still burning match onto the headless corpse and walked off into the cool Paris evening.  
  
****  
  
Well there ya go, theres my second chapter. Tell me what ya think, and like I said, leave your email and I will prolly send ya a letter. Untill next time. 


	3. Default Chapter Title

****  
  
Ok I know the last chapter was kinda short, I am grasping at straws trying to make this storyline work. The beginings are always hard, any author knows that. I will try to make em a little longer. Here's chapter 3. Some people thought Gambit was a little to violent in that last chapter, but against those two he had good reason. I will try to stay in charecter a little more.  
  
****  
  
Logan slowly walked through the corridors of the abandoned complex. It was for the most part seemingly an office builing. Every room he looked into was the same. A desk, a couch, and a file cabinet. The file cabinets were empty, as were the desk drawers. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and there was the smell of mildew in the air.  
  
There corridor twisted and turned throughout the cliff. He was thankful it was just one corridor and not a maze of them. He was certain that he would get lost fairly easily. After turning a corner he came upon two sets of doors. He shined his flashlight over the doors and stopped when he saw he faceplate on the them. The one on the right read LIVING QUARTERS, but the one on the left is what kept his attention. BIO LAB.  
  
The door was as thick as the entrance had been, and it had the same type of numberpad next to it. He tested the door again and this time it slip open easier. His senses were assaulted with the smell of chemicals. He pulled a hankerchief out of his pocket and held it up to his ultrasensitive nose.   
  
He shined his flashlight through the doorway, looking into the lab. The room was huge, his flashlight didn't even reach to the other side. There was electronic equipment everywhere. The consoles were all covered with dust and grime. To the side of him the entire wall was covered with bottles of chemicals. There was a upright tank that looked for all the world like an oversized test tube. A harness was hanging in the center and he could tell it had been made to hold a person.  
  
Of all the equipment in the room, the one thing that held his attention was what was in the center. The floor was upraised and supported another tank. Only this one was horizontal, and rectangular. Equipment hung from the ceiling, as if from some science fiction movie. To the left of the tank lay an overturned tray of instruments, most of them common, scalpes, syringes and the like. But there were other, less common things.  
  
There was an instrument that looked like a corkscrew with a plunger on the end, and what looked like a pair of scissors with a wire wrapped around the blades. There was a thick tube connected to the tank that ran into a faucet sticking out of the ground. he climbed up onto the platform and looked into the tanke, there were straps in the bottom of it, thick ones, that were locked with an ever thicker buckle.  
  
His mind was rocked with a flashback of fighting whilst being forced into this tank. There were men everywhere, all wearing a black suit that reminded him of Darth Vader. He fought with all of his considerable strength, but the men still overpowered him. They Strapped him in the tank and placed a mask over his face. Without warning the tank began to fill with water. As it covered his head he inhaled the oxygen coming through his mask and screamed.  
  
Logan looked down again at the tank, and then around the room. His eyes to came to rest on a pair of doors in the bank of the room. He climbed down off the platform and walked over to the doors. He pushed his way through the door marked containment and peered around the in the darkness. I was half the size of the lab, but instead of equipment and consoles, there were cages.  
  
To the left the wall was stacked to with smaller cages, maybe used to house dogs, or rabbits. But to the right there only 2 cages. The bars were thick as his wrist and as he ran his hands over them he realized they were made of adamantium, the same metal alloy that was embedded onto his skeleton.   
  
As he was looking at the cage something to the left of the door caught his eye. It was a nameplate. It was as covered with dust as everything else was and when he slowly wiped it off he was not suprised to find that it read LOGAN,  
WOLVERINE.  
  
The two cages were seperated by nearly six feet of solid concrete and when he looked in he was startled to find that the walls were covered in claw marks. Particularly the wall in between the two cages. He walked slowly over to the door and looked at the name plate. He wiped away the dust and pulled his hand back as if the plate had just become white hot. His eyes reread the words over and over, but his brain refused to comprehend. His mouth moved, but no sound came out, and then, he read the words aloud.  
  
"Victor," and then, in a whisper barely audible, "Sabertooth..."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The words rang in Sabertooth's ears as listened to Logan read the words aloud. His memory was even more fragmented the Logans. He remembered nothing before the day he awoke to find himself hunched over the body of a hunter in the woods, the taste of blood, salty in his mouth. He watched as Logan stood there, looking how Sabertooth felt. He thought about it. It had said Victor, could that be his real name. It seemed familiar somehow, but-  
  
His quest to remember was interupted as he saw Logan begin to walk toward the door, quickly he ducked backwards behind a rolling rack lined with chemicals. He watched as Logan then went into the other door, the one marked FILE ROOM.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As Gambit walked down the road, a small figure sailed down silently from the rooftops and landed on top of a lamp post. He watched as the thief walked casually down the street smoking his cigarette. He had been following him for weeks, and he was fairly certain that Gambit knew. His tail twitched in the darkness, curling itself around the lamppost.  
  
Kurt Wagner, the Nightcrawler quietly slid down the pole, his three fingered hands never making so much as a whisper. The burning corpse continued to burt in the night air, putting off a tench worse then spoiled meat. Nightcrawler made his way to the hogtied man who was still unconsious and fished out his wallet. He looked at the mans identification and confirmed what he already knew. The group called WHAM over in America had also spawned smaller chapters, which they called the Friends of Humanity. These two would be assasins were members of one such chapter, and they to had been following Gambit.  
  
Standing up, he curled his tail around his waist and watched as the rogue walked away into the night.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Deep within space an asteroid sailed slowly through the stars. It was composed of spacedust and particles from all over the universe the same as all other asteroids. But this one was different, it housed an occupant, and not a willing one either. The Creature awoke as it had many times before to see the same thing. Stars, nothing more. It had been quite awhile since he was chained to this accursed asteroid. He strugled feebly, not really wanting to escape, for he knew that there was nowhere to go just yet. His face was a catchers mask of bone, and his crimson eyes stared out, seething with hatred at the thought of floating here.   
  
He had been floating for months. But time held no importance with the Creature. Only life was important, or rather, the extermination of it. Particularly the Red One. That one had been a challenge for him. Even to the point of draining his energy. In the end, he had seemingly killed the little man, but he knew that he had survived.   
  
It was this man from Metropolis that he would seek. This challenge, this being that he was destined to destroy. He looked down at his body. he was yet again encased in bonds. But, as he had done before, he would simply break free. He closed his eyes, and slept, not for any other reason then to pass the time.  
  
When he awoke again, he was staring at a star, but this one was different then the tiny ones he saw in the distance. this one was MUCH bigger. He was still billions of miles away from it, and to him it was barley the size of a bowling ball. But he could still tell it was huge. He roared in silent anger when he was sudden;y blinded as the star flashed, and then darkened. When he could see again, he saw that the star seemed to be collapsing in upon itself. Space itself was folding, the small particles of space dust and the asterids from the nearby belt began to stream toward the dead star.  
  
The planets, with their budding forms of life, slowly drifted toward the black hole that had just been created. The Creature felt his asteroid change course and head toward the funnel. He watched in fascination as he began to pick up speed. The moon of an outer planet shot by him and dissapeared into the singularity. The Creature, bound to his asteroid was swallowed up into the black hole.  
  
Stars shot like fireflies all around him, there were gasses and debris. His asteroid shot past a derelect alien craft. His asteroid spun wildly, centrifical forces pulling at him. Spacedust pelted the rock at such high speeds as to leave small craters all over, and the Creature felt this as well, but even this ethereal force did not harm the creature. his asteroid shot away into swirling lights.  
  
And then, as suddenly as it began, it ended. He was once again floating through endless space. The Creature laid his head back against the rock, and once again slept. If he had known, or cared, he would be overjoyed, and angered at the same time. The black hole he had flown through had transported him into an alternate universe. A universe were Superman did not exist. But while he had been transported through these dimensions, he had also been turned around exactly, his course matched that of the one he had been on. So instead of heading away from planet Earth, he was on a direct course with it.  
  
A memory flashed through the Creature's mind. That of picking up a car, and before hurling it at the Red Man, hearing the frightened words of a DJ scream from out of the radio "Doomsday has arrived!" the fear in the mans voice is what drove this creature, the fear is what made him what he was. the fear, is what created Doomsday.  
  
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Ok for those of you who don't know who Doomsday is, he is from the DC universe and I suggest you read the book by Roger Stern called The Death and Life of Superman if you want to know the details. A very good read for any comic lover. In that book Doomsday was strapped to an asteroid and hurled into space by Cyborg Superman after he was thought to be dead. I have always loved Doomsday and I wanted to get him into this fic, so I devised the black hole. Well if you have any questions about Doomsday, or any other part of the book, email em to me at Magus432@hotmail.com and I will be happy to discuss with ya. 


	4. 

Ok, It's been a LONG time since I updated, but an email from an interested reader got me wanting to write again. But there's a catch. I leave for the army in two days. So I am gonna whip out this chapter by then, but it may be a while before I do another one. But either way, here's the next chapter.  
  
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As Logan walked into the file room he was surprised to find that this wasn't the small room he had pictured, rather it was a massive room filled with hundreds upon hundreds of filing cabinets. He walked slowly down the corridors of cabinets, reading the labels on each one. Most seemed to be dates, but others were marked by various medical terminologies.   
  
As he read the labels he followed the dates till the very last cabinet. He pulled it open and flipped to the end file. Most of it was papers about the facility, personnel reports, inventory invoices, and other such things. But in the back he found a thick red file. Stamped boldly on the cover were the words: TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY. He flipped the cover open and found himself staring at a picture of himself. He looked much the same, only very tired.  
  
The photo was clipped to a sheath of papers. As he looked over the papers he found that most were in German. But near the end he found a single sheet written in block writing. Seemingly a report that was to be sent on, but never got there. It read:  
  
Subject is responding magnificently. Stage 4 was completed ahead of schedule. Logan's strength and defensive attitude have forced us to sedate him for the past week. But otherwise all is normal. We suspect that within the next two months we will be ready to start work on Victor. Report again in 6 weeks.  
  
Logan could not make out the signature, but the report confirmed what he had already suspected. Being part of an experiment is what gave him his skeletal structure. And his bad dreams. Behind his file, he found another on Sabertooth. The picture of him was much more human then the face that Logan had come to despise, but this man, this Victor, was undoubtedly Sabertooth. He took the file and tucked it into his coat. He would return to the school and ask for the professor's help after he finished looking over the complex.  
  
As he walked toward the door he became instantly alert when he heard something shatter in the next room...  
  
* * * *  
  
The creature known as Doomsday once again awoke from his dreamless slumber. Still confined on the asteroid he looked at his surroundings. Again, as before, he saw nothing but stars. But ahead of him he saw another star. Large, but not so large as the one that had imploded. To his right he saw another planet, small, and blue. For one fleeting second he thought perhaps it was the planet that contained Superman, but as he looked he saw this was a dead planet. Cold and frozen. But while this was not Earth, he DID recognize the planet. He had seen the same planet after he had been tossed into space. He looked around slowly, squinting his blood red eyes to see the small points that were the other planets.   
  
He realized it would not be soon. His mind though primitive and full of rage still made the deduction. He was heading back toward Earth. He laughed in hate filled glee as he thought once again of fighting Superman.  
  
* * * *  
  
In the quiet night of Paris, the Eiffel tower gave a view many have fawned at. Gambit stood at the top, slowly looking over the city. He took one last drag off his cigarette before throwing it off. Watching it sail down, beyond sight.  
  
He looked down and watched a dark shape jump on to the girders at the bottom and start to scale the tower. He knew this person had been following him. But he had ignored. Whoever it was had yet to reveal themselves, or their intentions, but they hadn't bothered him either.  
He watched as the person made incredible speed up the tower. No longer bothering to hide his presence. As the man reached the top he somersaulted over the edge and stood in front of Gambit, his arms crossed, and his tail wrapping itself around his ankle.  
  
Gambit looked at him, trusting not for a second. The man was clothed in a midnight black jumpsuit. And his hair was black as well... While the tail struck him as odd, it also relieved him to find that this person wasn't one of the "Friends."  
  
"Who are you," he asked in his French accent, "and why have you been following me?"  
  
The man smiled widely and spread his arms in an extravagant bow.  
  
"Kurt Wagner, The Nightcrawler, at your service." His voice was thick with a British hint. "And as to why I am following you, I am a friend. More a brother in arms then anything. I saw what was about with those two men back there. Happen often?"  
  
Gambit eyed the Nightcrawler with a careful gaze. "Often enough..."  
  
Nightcrawler laughed and walked to the edge of the railing, looking over. "It doesn't have to, you know? I was sent here because you're in need of assistance."  
  
"I think I can take care of my own..."  
  
"True... I don't doubt your skill, I saw that earlier this evening. But everyone could use a little help now and again. All I'm asking for is a chance. I simply want you to hear me out."  
  
It was a cool night, and Gambit tugged his trench coat tighter around himself. "I'm listening..."  
  
Nightcrawler glanced at Gambit and then up at the stars. He made as if to speak and then fell silent. His eyes focused on something and Gambit followed his gaze.  
  
In the air, a ball of burning light had suddenly appeared. It moved quickly, growing in size. And Gambit realized with horror it was a meteor. He looked at Nightcrawler who had quickly come to the same assumption. The Nightcrawler looked at him quickly.  
  
"We need to get off of here!" He said urgently.  
  
"Obviously! But how!?"  
  
Nightcrawler looked down and then at Gambit, sizing him up, "Don't struggle..."  
  
"Wha-?" Gambit barely had time to utter his confusion before the Nightcrawler put his arm around his waist and vaulted over the railing. Heeding the advice of this man only because it would save him from a painful landing. He was surprised when their fall was suddenly arrested and they swung into the girders of the tower. Quickly, before Gambit could even see what they were doing the Nightcrawler began to shimmy through the struts. Swinging and catching them without effort.  
  
In a matter of seconds the Nightcrawler jumped out of the tower and touched down. He sat Gambit back on his feet and shouted for him to run. As they both sprinted down the street, Gambit risked a glance upwards and saw the asteroid streak across the sky.  
  
No bigger then a car, but still moving at massive speeds it collided with the top of the tower and sent it crumpling to the ground in a spectacular display of destruction. Before the tower had time to collapse the asteroid continued on its course and collided with the ground in the distance, there was a loud thud and a bright flash. And then all was quiet.  
  
Gambit stopped running and looked back. Next to him he saw the Nightcrawler staring into the distance. They heard sirens begin to wail. Nightcrawler reached into a small pocket and pulled out a miniature radio.  
  
"Nightcrawler to home, Ya there?" He said tensely.  
  
He listened as he only got static back. Gambit looked questioning at Nightcrawler.  
  
"That thing hit near our HQ. We need to go find out if they're ok."  
  
Gambit thought for a moment and as his curiosity got the better of him he nodded to Nightcrawler and they started running toward the touchdown of the asteroid.  
  
****  
  
ok, there ya go, chapter 4. Well this will prolly my last update for at least nine weeks, but what the hell, if ya like it, you can wait :-P Cya 


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